Navigating Adulthood One Day At A Time

New Year’s Eve

I’ve never been one to put much weight one New Year’s. I’ve never thought that a new year meant starting new…it’s just time and it’s not like we put that much weight on a new month (new month’s resolutions? no, but maybe that should be a thing, those would probably me more attainable). I’ve never even created New Year’s resolutions, but looking ahead I realize that this could be one hell of a year.

I think about to when I was in High School and remember my best friend and I thinking about our “crazy” New Year’s plans…how crazy could they be? We were 16. Mostly they ended up with us having a sleepover, watching movies or Dick Clark’s ball drop and then going to sleep. I went through a phase in my early 20’s where I thought New Year’s Eve needed to be exciting and loads of fun….until I spent my first New Year’s downtown Denver and realized it was just hoards of drunk people acting like fools and so expensive…my God so expensive. It was fun, but not because of where I was but because of who I was with. As I go into my later 20’s I realize that I just want to be at someone’s house with good friends and Jon, laugh, play some games and enjoy myself.

I can’t believe all that has happened this year. Lost a job, found a new job, had the best volunteer experience of my life with R.O.C.K. (Refugee Outreach Clothing Kids) where I met my dear friend Marsha, who is by far one of the greatest people I know. Started doing work with Education Travel and Culture (ETC) placing foreign exchange students here in Colorado, where I’ve met some of the coolest teenagers on earth. Moved to Aurora, away from the only city I’ve ever lived in. Fell in love with a man (though to be fair that didn’t happen this year, more like last year but I’m still in love with him, if not more so).

This coming year could be filled with even more changes. I’m turning 27, which I just realized is strange. I don’t feel 27 and I know I don’t look 27 (thanks to the movie theater incident where the ticket guy asked Jon’s dad if it was ‘two adults and two children’ me being the 2nd child). I’m not freaked out by getting older as I know some of my friends are, it’s just weird to think that I’m 27…I thought I’d have a lot more figure out by now and maybe look older than 15. I’m considering starting Grad school but there is a lot about it that scares me…starting with the GRE math section. We may be buying a house…yes we. Which again prompts the “Shit, when did I become an adult?” part of my brain to flare up. Yet with all these potentially terrifying new changes (terrifying in a good way) I’m excited. I have the best support system in the world. New friends, old friends, colleagues, and family that are the absolute best.

I hope you all have a happy New Year and are as full of love and happiness as me!